Stephen Jager

Paradise Stephen Jager

When a reclusive lawyer fails to stop the death of a child at the hands of a judge dispensing a rigorous and uncompromising law, he vows vengeance by setting out to change one amendment to the constitution that will dismantle the foundation of the world. Except for courier vehicles and kitchen trucks that dot the otherwise deserted city streets, Vienna 2.0 is a massive sprawling urban expanse sometime in the near future. Its inhabitants are cocooned in the custom-made worlds brought about by the convenience of the automation of virtual technology. Even the execution for breaking the law is automated, and only a real fear for those who venture outside their apartments. JESSE CODA, a retired judge, lives alone and occasionally baby-sits his neighbour's kid. One day the boy ventures outside in search of his father and is executed because of rigorous and uncompromising law. Jesse vows to avenge his death. The first thing he does is to open the first restaurant in a reclusive city. He invites the dregs, the untouchables of society, the homeless, to revive the tradition of eating together. He uses the restaurant to also get them back online and back into operating within society. This of course draws the attention of the authorities which brings Jesse face to face with old enemies. As a retired judge Jesse claims his right to one amendment to the constitution, which causes all crimes, past and future be punished with immediate effect - and yet leaving only one person to be executed for the punishments of the world - himself. With all fear of consequence now removed, a new world begins for the untouchables.